The Moon Rises (Gigi Monroe)

by Angela Horn

  Even the Master Vamp and necromancer seemed less indifferent than usual as they departed the club. Everyone wanted a little piece of Gigi, Anton realized. They were all greedy bastards, hungering for the beauty and innocence Gigi provided. No matter why Anton needed Gigi, the grief was real. Unable to shake the pain, he sat alone in his office and tried to remember what she looked like before a monster tore her apart.

  When the bell on the front office rang, Anton tensed, wondering who would ignore the CLOSED sign. He turned the corner of his private office and found no one, but then he smelled it – the lovely aroma of cocoa and a wood fire.

  Stepping into the office, Anton heard the file cabinet open and turned to find Gigi with a stack of files. She glanced at him when he entered.

  “Melanie told me to file today.”

  While Anton knew ghosts were real and he also heard a ghost followed Gigi around, he always believed ghosts wouldn’t seem so solid or smell so good.

  “Gigi, you don’t have to file,” Anton said, moving slowly so not to spook her.

  “Melanie said…”

  Reaching out, Anton touched her arm. Instead of a ghost, she was flesh and bone. His mind seized upon Tobin’s ability to return some version of Gigi. Anton also remembered the necromancer’s inability to sense the monster which came for Gigi.

  Did Tobin steal Gigi and return her to life as some sort of plaything? If so, why was she here filing, instead of hiding away in Tobin’s mansion?

  Pulling the paperwork from her hands slowly, Anton dropped them on the desk. His hands found her face which was warm like the expression in her eyes.

  “You were worried about me last night.”

  “How can you be alive?” Anton finally asked.

  Gigi didn’t answer immediately, enjoying his caressing fingers on her cheeks. Her dark eyes were dreamy as she smiled.

  “I fell asleep in the room at the club. When I woke up this morning at home, I was fine. I don’t know what happened.”

  Anton lowered his hands to the seam of her shirt. “Can I check something?”

  Nodding, Gigi was still watching him in her warm and dreamy way. Anton lifted her shirt to her bra and found only flawless skin where the night before was a gaping hole. He knew of the necromancer’s magic and this kind of healing wasn’t possible for Tobin.

  Most ghouls were ugly because death was ugly. Bringing back the human body in pristine form was impossible. Even under the best circumstances, if Gigi were a zombie, her face might look a bit too pale while her eyes a hint too vacant. The wounds would remain though. Tobin could have sewn her up and made her body function on a very basic level, but the Gigi standing before Anton was unblemished.

  “Do you remember what I said to you in the alley?” Anton asked, accepting how his prayers were answered.

  Gigi nodded with a soft smile. Anton took her face in his hands again, caressing her cheeks and causing her eyes to grow wistful. He could see how fast she was breathing and he hoped she wanted him to kiss her. When he leaned down, her chin lifted and her lips met his.

  The moment their lips touched, the world stopped and it was just them. Anton never felt anything like the sensation in his life. He would later wonder if she was some kind of temptress, but right then he was lost in her.

  His hands reached behind Gigi, wrapping her into his arms and pulling her snugly against his chest. Anton could hear her heart pounding as Gigi’s hands slid up the back of his shirt. Her lips were soft, yet eager and they opened for him when his tongue licked them. Gigi tasted sweet and Anton pulled her closer, wanting more. He didn’t even consider what she wanted.

  When Anton pressed her against the desk, Gigi made a lovely little moan and her legs wrapped around his hips. Her purple skirt was soon hiked up and his zipper pressed along her pink and white polka dotted panties.

  Kissing her hungrily, his hands slipped under her shirt, causing another hungrier moan from her lips. When his thumbs grazed her nipples, Gigi gasped and threw her head back while pulling him closer. While using her new position to taste her neck, he imagined Gigi in his bed, naked with her soft full breasts in his hands. He imagined suckling those hard nipples his fingers were teasing.

  He imagined tasting every inch of her, just as he was now licking her throat, nipping at her jaw, and sucking at her pulse. As his mouth explored, Gigi grinded against him and let out little heated gasping noises.

  Anton couldn’t think rationally – not about his inability to have a mate or the danger of having Gigi as a girlfriend or even how he wanted to take her on the desk in the front office where anyone could see them. His only thoughts were how good she smelled and how good she felt and those little gasping moans she was making and how badly he wanted to be inside her. When he unzipped his jeans, the sound of this action triggered something rational in his otherwise irrational brain.

  Stepping away quickly, Anton left Gigi with nothing to hold onto and she collapsed awkwardly on the desk. He studied her as he tried to pull himself under control.

  Gigi watched him, while licking her lips. She tasted his affections in a gesture which was both innocent and erotic. Her skirt was still wrapped up around her waist and he could see those polka dotted panties. His mind though was on the startled expression on her flushed face.

  “I’m sorry,” Anton mumbled, unable to find his in control Alpha voice. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me?”

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No,” he muttered, wanting desperately to return to her arms, though they could move their embrace to a more private location.

  Just realizing he still wanted to sleep with her - no, not wanted, but needed to sleep with her - made it clear to him how he was losing control. Maybe it was the stress of the upcoming war, but Anton had wanted so desperately to feel Gigi - to be inside her, to explore every inch of her - that he hadn’t really worried about what she wanted. He wasn’t sure she wanted any of it and Anton wasn’t a guy who pushed himself on women.

  Hell, he didn’t even chase women. He showed a bit of interest and if the woman wanted to take it further, she had to make the effort. As Alpha, it was too easy for him to let his authority intimidate females into doing his bidding. He always held back to ensure he wasn’t crossing a line. Yet he would have crossed every line with Gigi and still wanted to as he stared at her.

  “I’m very happy you’re okay, but maybe you shouldn’t come to the office for a while.”

  The moment Anton said the words, not only did his heart tell him to take them back, but Gigi’s face told him the same thing. Her expression had been confused until then, but the confusion shifted into the look of a scolded child. She finally slipped off the desk and fixed her skirt.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  Anton sometimes forgot how Gigi didn’t understand things, but it was clear she didn’t understand things right then. He didn’t blame her for thinking he was nuts or a jerk, but she seemed to blame herself.

  When she turned to leave, Gigi smacked into a desk and stumbled towards the door. Anton wanted to stop her and explain, but what he really wanted was Gigi in his bed. Instead he let her leave with the awful look on her face rather than trust himself to behave with her.

  Gigi was so flustered she started walking the wrong direction before realizing her mistake and stumbling towards her apartment. Anton watched her go and felt a desperate need to follow. He wanted her more than he wanted to go to war or protect his territory or kill Declan or maybe even more than he wanted to be an Alpha, but he let her leave anyway.

  Chapter Thirty

  Gigi felt uneasy when she returned to her apartment. Smelling Anton on her, she could also feel his hands and lips on her skin. She wanted him so much and he seemed to want her too, but he pushed her away. Unsure what she did wrong, Gigi was upset that Anton not only didn’t want her in his bed. He didn’t even want her in the office.

  Embarrassed by his rejection, Gigi took a
shower and washed off her arousal. She felt humiliated to have clawed all over him. Maybe she acted too much like a whore and he was turned off?

  Justine said guys wanted chicks to be easy, but not too easy. Too easy meant acting like a whore which was what Gigi did when Anton kissed her. She lost control because he felt so good and she had been waiting for weeks for him to touch her.

  Gigi sat on her couch, listened to music, and cried a little. She mostly was confused. Did he not love her anymore? Did all those things Anton whispered to her when he thought she was dying just go away once she acted like a whore? Would he give her another chance or had she ruined things with Anton like she did with Finn?

  Startled from her moping by a knock at the door, Gigi found Ella and Justine in the hallway.

  “What the fuck?” Ella said, pushing inside and hugging Gigi. “Seriously, what the fuck?”

  “Charming, Ella,” Justine said, entering the apartment and smiling at Gigi. “Where did you go last night?”

  Gigi said nothing as she soaked in Ella’s hug. Once the Were let her go, Gigi sighed.

  “I don’t know. I woke up here and I’m better.”

  “Shit, you look perfect,” Ella said, yanking up Gigi’s shirt. “Not a mark. Unfuckingbelievable.”

  “You guys thought I was dead?” Gigi asked, shutting the door.

  “Everyone did,” Ella said, falling on the couch. “You were dying and then you were gone. The Alphas searched the area, but no one thought to check your apartment since why would the monster bring you home? Anton told Silas he saw you and I think Silas texted the whole Circle.”

  Once Justine found a chair nearby, both of her friends watched her curiously. Gigi thought to ask them about Anton’s behavior and if he might change his mind, but Ella frowned darkly.

  “I’m sorry, Gigi. I love you. I really really do. I’m very very happy you’re alive, but if you don’t change the fucking music, I’m going to beat the shit out of you,” Ella said as she frowned at the stereo.

  Gigi smiled. “It’s She & Him.”

  “I don’t care who the hell it is, change it before I kill someone.”

  Standing up, Gigi switched the CD to Crystal Gayle. While the new music didn’t please Ella much, at least she stopped making threats. Returning to the couch, Gigi hummed to the music, sensing it irritated Ella. Justine watched them both and sighed.

  “Am I the only one who finds Gigi being alive the craziest shit ever? Nolan also said you aren’t human, so what the hell are you? Some kind of latent magic doesn’t explain how you lived for so long and how they can’t smell magic on you or whatever else they were babbling about last night.”

  Gigi eyed them both and shrugged. “How would I know?”

  “Maybe you should ask the witches about your missing memories?” Justine suggested.

  “No,” Ella snarled. “Witches are dangerous.”

  “Nolan isn’t.”

  Ella sighed. “Poor dazed and fucking confused Justine. He is a mama’s boy. If Mira told him to hold Gigi down while the others harvested her, Nolan would. Letting them anywhere near Gigi after she essentially came back from the dead, means she’ll disappear. Then their clan will become more powerful and we’ll all have to pretend we don’t see a connection.”

  Justine flipped off Ella. “Nolan wouldn’t hurt Gigi. He looked upset last night when he thought she would die.”

  “Yeah, they were all upset,” Ella grunted and Gigi wondered if the two females would even notice if she left. “Because a dead Gigi ain’t fuckable.”

  Justine rolled her eyes, unwilling to talk ill of Nolan. “Maybe she can ask Tobin then?”

  “No,” Ella grumbled. “Gigi needs to keep her head down and act like nothing happened. If she makes a big deal out of it, others will start asking too many questions.”

  “Good because she needs answers.”

  “No, she needs to survive and being an oddity in the Circle gets a person killed. Remember Amber Rose who floated or Arlo who said he could channel angels and make them do his bidding or how about the demon whisperer Carson? They were all freaks who were too open about their freakiness and they’re all dead now.”

  Justine sighed loudly and started to speak when a knock on the door startled her. Gigi rushed to the door, suddenly nervous about sitting in between Ella and Justine who were both pissed now.

  Opening the door, Gigi smiled at Dahlia who pushed back her cloak.

  “It’s true,” Dahlia said quietly. Lifting a phone, Dahlia snapped a picture. “Simon wanted proof of life. He was concerned for you.”

  “Yippee,” Ella said with a roll of her eyes. “How did you get here during the day?”

  “The canals run under this building.”

  “Lovely because Gigi just can’t catch a break.”

  “May I come in?” Dahlia asked.

  Gigi nodded before Ella and Justine yelled no in unison. Dahlia stepped into the apartment and gave them a haughty smile.

  “I won’t eat her.”

  “Oh, not now,” Ella muttered, “but wait until a surge. You’ll get yourself a Gigi snack.”

  Waving her hand dismissively, Dahlia slid into a chair in a corner, where the sun wouldn’t touch her. “Simon would behead me if I ate Gigi.”

  “Because he wants to eat her first,” Justine said with a frown.

  Gigi watched the three of them and sighed loudly. “Why are you here?”

  “Yes, Dahlia,” Ella growled. “You’ve given your master his answer, now off with you.”

  “I meant all three of you,” Gigi said. “You seemed sad when you thought I was going to die, but now you’re all just being mean. Why are you even here?”

  Justine shrugged. “We wanted to check on you.”

  “I know Declan sent Ella and Simon sent Dahlia, but who sent you, Justine?”

  Justine shrugged again. “Silas.”

  “I’m fine and I won’t talk about my freakiness, but unless you’re going to be nice to each other, you should leave my apartment. You’re upsetting my ghost with all your bickering.”

  This last statement was a lie. The ghost was sitting in the corner with her eyes closed, listening to Crystal Gayle. She seemed oblivious to the females, yet after Gigi’s comment, she opened her eyes a crack and smirked.

  “Don’t be cranky, G,” Ella said, walking towards her. “We’re just worried.”

  “Do you want a snack?”

  Ella shrugged. “I could eat. Are you going to work tonight? Silas is telling people you won’t be in for a few days.”

  “Why wouldn’t I go to work?” Gigi asked from the kitchen. “I can make ham sandwiches.”

  Dahlia sighed. “I don’t eat solids, Gigi.”

  “Well there’s nothing for you to drink here,” Justine muttered.

  “Can you eat soup?” Gigi asked.

  “Yes, but I’m not hungry. Thank you.”

  “I’ll take a sandwich,” Ella said, joining her in the kitchen. “Why didn’t you run inside when Dave told you to?”

  Gigi frowned. “Because the monster was going to kill him.”

  “He’s a top solider in my pack. He’s Declan’s right hand man. Even if he wasn’t, when a dude takes on a monster, you just let him and go somewhere safe.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re a girl and can’t fight. You might not be human, but you’re not strong like a Were.”

  “I work out at the gym.”

  Grinning, Ella rolled her eyes. “Yes, you’re very badass, G. You need to be careful though. Next time someone tries to mess with you, just run. Don’t try to be a hero.”

  “But Dave would have died. He’s okay, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, but he’s a dude. Let him die. We girls don’t get the power they do, so it’s only fair that they get to die in battle while we hide in the corner.”

  Gigi squinted at Ella then smiled. “You’re full of shit.”

  “Excuse me,” Ella said, laughing.

  “You
wouldn’t have run away.”

  “Yes, well I’m a Were. I’m built to kick ass.”

  Gigi thought to mention how she killed the monster, but she wasn’t sure how she killed it. Besides each of her friends was acting like the others couldn’t be trusted. Gigi figured it was probably safest not to trust any of them.

  “I’ll be careful,” Gigi said, handing the sandwich to Ella.

  Grinning, the Were looked at the plate. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Gigi smiled because Ella was one of her favorite people, but she was never sure how much the Were really liked her. Even though she watched out for Gigi, Ella seemed awkward around her sometimes. Now she knew Ella was her friend because the look in the Were’s eyes was soft and Ella was never soft.

  Justine wasn’t as soft as she stared at the wall and Dahlia seemed tired since she was out during the day. The three females made small talk, discussing nothing in particular. Justine then texted Silas and told him Gigi was fine and would be at work that night.

  In a flash, they were gone and Gigi was alone again. Anxious about being unable to visit Anton’s office, she decided to change into sweats and head to Declan’s gym and get out her tension. Ella said Declan was upset the night before, so he might like to see her alive.

  Unlike Anton’s office which was empty, Declan’s gym was full of Weres who were pounding the crap out of punching bags and each other. Everyone was wound up and Gigi thought maybe she should leave.

  The intoxicating odor of so many sweaty males was riling her up again too. Her mind returned to Anton and how his lips felt on her neck. His touch was better than she could have imagined, but apparently the pleasure was all hers.

  “Gigi.”

  Woken from her daydreaming about Anton, Gigi saw Declan approach her cautiously.

  “Silas sent word about you, but…”

  Declan’s expression was strange and Gigi felt a bit uneasy with him looking at her.

  “I need to speak with you,” he nearly growled.

  Once in the office, Gigi watched him shut the door then turn to her. Standing over her, less than a foot away, Declan still looked angry. Yet his gray eyes were studying her face in a way which made Gigi think of Finn.